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Article History

Received: 16 October 2025

Accepted: 27 February 2026

First Online: 9 March 2026

Declarations

:

: This study was conducted in accordance with the Uganda National Guidelines for Research Involving Humans as Research Participants. The study adhered to the ethical principles of the Helsinki Declaration (2002 version), which sets ethical standards for medical research involving humans, and was approved by the Gulu University Research Ethics Committee (GUREC-2024–989). Permission to collect data within the community was obtained from City clerk of Lira City. Prior to participation, written informed consent was sought from all the participants, and for participants under the age of 16 (minors), consent to participate was obtained from their parents or legal guardians. In the case of illiterate participants, verbal informed consent was obtained, which was documented in the presence of a witness or legally authorized representative. Participation in the study was entirely voluntary. The collected data was exclusively utilized for this study, and participants were informed about the potential publication of the study results. To ensure clarity, the data collection tool (questionnaire) was translated into the native language, 'leb lango,' and then back into English before the commencement of data collection.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.